Dancing Left Feet
by Trevor X
Summary: "A lady prefers to be courted, not solicited." In which Soleil attempts to master dancing, and Laslow dispenses fatherly advice on matters of the heart. Laslow, Soleil, hints of Corrin.


_**Dancing Left Feet**_

 **xXx**

Characters considered herein: Soleil, Laslow, hints of Corrin

 **xXx**

 _"Hmph. A true lady prefers to be courted, not solicited."_

 **xXx**

Step, step and turn.

 _Now sway, tilt, step, step, step and turn._

Her father was the most graceful dancer ever. No hesitation between moves, each motion powerfully conveying emotion; he was a mountain that Soleil aspired to climb.

 _Step, step, trip._

Unfortunately in this, it seemed that she had no chance of even mimicry of his starting move set, let alone the myriad dances that he practiced daily. They'd been at this for an hour or more, with Laslow demonstrating slowly and Soleil attempting to mimic him. So far, she'd tripped thrice, missed entire portions of the sequence on multiple occasions, and focused so hard upon the timing that she'd forgotten which steps came next.

Her father grinned as she rolled over and rubbed her knee. "Soleil, you've been working so hard at this, shall we break for tea?"

A frown crossed her features, overshadowing the flush that suffused her face as she turned away. "How can you make it look so easy? I'll never get this right..."

A hand appeared in her vision. "If you truly thought that, I doubt you would have asked for my help, dearest daughter. And you _are_ making progress, even if you cannot see it."

She sighed and grasped the hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. "If I am, it's not anything I can appreciate. And certainly not quickly enough for me to skirt clear of embarassing myself in front of anyone."

Laslow linked her arm with his and together they walked to Soleil's room. While her parents' room may have been closer, Soleil had the nicer tea set, courtesy of the parent currently escorting her to their shared destination. Her father was uncharacteristically silent as they walked along, something Soleil might have noted had she not been absent in her own thoughts.

 _'I hate this feeling of inadequacy. Until I can perform, she still holds this over me...'_

She was broken from her train of thought by the gentle tug of her father disengaging his arm and eyeing her carefully. She blushed as she remembered that this was _her_ room and she needed to open the door. She did so hastily, trying to ignore the raised eyebrow that her actions meritted.

It wasn't until the door was closed to the outside world and the tea was heated and poured that Laslow finally broke the silence.

"When you say anyone, did you mean _everyone_ , or is there someone in particular that you don't wish to be embarassed by?"

Soleil started to give a glib answer to the question...

And flushed as she considered that she did indeed have someone in mind. Someone that might not want her attentions quite as much as Soleil wanted to bestow them. But also someone that had seen the chink in her armor and allowed a ray of hope to fall into her heart, right before the chains of her own ineptitude and embarassment served to cut that off with the certainty of a porticulis slamming shut.

"I see."

Startled, Soleil glanced back at her father, her face a silent question. He sipped his tea and paused to set the cup back on the saucer in front of him. His next question was one that she should have expected. "Is it serious, or are you merely flirting?"

She had to ponder the question, something that she hadn't even considered beyond the challenge involved. Her pride had been stung by the words implying that someone else held the advantage, but she hadn't taken thought to any motivation beyond her rashly shouted promise to improve until she could... "It might be?"

Laslow nodded as she raised her eyes to look at him again. His eyes twinkled as he regarded her with as solemn an expression as a light-hearted rogue could ever bear.

"What do they think about receiving your attentions?"

Now she truly blushed. "She said that she would tell everyone how terrible I am at dancing if I tried to be so brazen with her in public. That a true lady prefers to be courted rather than solicited."

"Dear me, you really are your father's daughter aren't you?" The light chuckle that accompanied the words did nothing to dispel the blush she wore. "You would have to choose an impossible target for love."

She frowned. "Not when I finally master dancing. Then she won't be able to resist my charms."

Laslow smiled fondly. "Might I make one little suggestion, my adorable daughter?"

When she nodded, he carried on. "Perhaps you might try courting her? It's one of those little lessons that comes straight from me to you; make her your only aim, and make her feel special."

"No more cute girls?" Her stomach dropped. "Just for her?"

Her father shook his head sympathetically. "Perhaps not all at once, and there may be alternatives that will allow you the pleasure of gathering cute girls up in droves again..." He paused and faced her with a smile, "But if you are serious about this one, then you need to be prepared to sacrifice to follow you heart. I can assure you that it is all worthwhile in the end."

"After all, I learned that lesson from you and your mother."

Soleil nodded slowly. "Ah... you may be right. You'll still help me learn how to dance?"

She earned another chuckle from her question. "Absolutely. How could I refuse you?"

"You are, after all, my adorable daughter."

Soleil hid her smile behind her tea.

 **xXx**

 _AN: Ah... So I've been rather exempt from the fiction writing scene for a few years... Please accept this tiny offering from Fire Emblem: Fates as homage to the community and the game._

 _This was inspired by Corrin(F) and Soleil's conversations thru A, and several of Laslow's conversations as well. Most specifically his conversations with Soleil and with Azura. After the A-rank conversation between Soleil and Corrin(F), I felt that it left too good a hook to be wasted by just randomly letting it die unused. And thus this beginning came out of a day of pondering and two days semi spent in writing. Also it gave a wondrous excuse to write Laslow and Soleil in father/daughter situations and the fluffy just had to come out there, along with a dose of serious Laslow advice._

 _Here's hoping I didn't butcher the characters too badly herein._

 _Anyway, please read and enjoy, and leave any comments, reviews, criticisms of said work in the box below. Thanks for reading._

 _Trev X_


End file.
